invited curiosity;—and,
“Deep struck with awe, we mark’d the dome o’erthrown,
Where once the beauty bloom’d, the warrior shone:
We saw the castle’s mouldering tow’rs decay’d,
The loose stone tott’ring o’er the trembling shade.”
This castle, once the residence of the famous Sir Rhys ap Thomas, I
imagine, was intended more for a noble residence than a place of defence.
The walls of this building are very thick, and constructed with stones of
a large size, strongly cemented with mortar. It is situated on a branch
of Milford Haven, and consists of a range of apartments built round a
quadrangle, with a circular tower at each corner. The south wall is
entirely demolished; but the north consists of a spacious hall, measuring
one hundred and two feet by twenty, supposed to have been built by Sir
John Perrot: above and under this hall, are noble apartments and
extensive offices. This castle appears to have been erected at different
times, if we may judge from the architecture. Every ledge of the walls
of the towers, denoting the different stories, was embossed with
vegetation, which seemed to grow from the solid stone. Over the
gate-way, at the west side, are the arms of England, Duke of Lancaster,
and Carew; and contiguous to this entrance is another spacious room,
measuring eighty feet by thirty.
The village of Carew is poor: there is, by the side of the road, a cross,
fashioned out of a single stone, fourteen feet high, and carved all over.
Leaving Carew, we crossed a small bridge over an arm of Milford Haven,
and continued our route across a barren and uninteresting heath; till,
descending to the village of